Ralph C. Martin is a professor at

Sacred Heart Major Seminary Sacred Heart Major Seminary is a private Roman Catholic seminary in Detroit, Michigan. It is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Detroit. In 2016–2017, 107 seminarians, representing eleven dioceses and two religious orders were enrolled in cla ...

and was involved in the early

Catholic charismatic renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches. The Renewal has been described as a "current of grace". It began in 1967 when Catho ...

as founder of the

Word of God (community) The Word of God is an ecumenical, charismatic, missionary Christian community in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The community began in 1967.Bord & Faulkner. 1983. ''The Catholic charismatics''. Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 11. Origins 1967-1976 ...

and cofounder of the

Sword of the Spirit The Sword of the Spirit is an international, ecumenical association of Christian communities within the charismatic movement. The member communities are composed predominantly of laypersons. It takes its roots from the Shepherding movement. ...

association of covenant communities.

Biography

Martin was raised Catholic, but having fallen away from religion as a youth, he was reconverted to Catholicism by a

Cursillo ''Cursillos in Christianity'' ( es, Cursillos de Cristiandad, "Short courses of Christianity") is an apostolic movement of the Catholic Church. It was conceived in Spain between 1940 and 1949 and began with the celebration of the so-called "first c ...

retreat he attended as a college student. Martin and Stephen B. Clark, who would also become a leader in the charismatic renewal, worked for the National Secretariat of the Cursillo from 1965 to 1970. During a Cursillo retreat in 1966, Martin and Clark recommended ''

The Cross and the Switchblade ''The Cross and the Switchblade'' is a biographical book written by the Rev. David Wilkerson with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, published by Bernard Geis Associates in 1963. Summary In 1958, Pentecostal pastor David Wilkerson of Assemblies of ...

'' to certain retreatants from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

. The book inspired one of these retreatants, Ralph W. Keifer, along with history professor William G. Storey, to lead a retreat on the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

for Duquesne students. This retreat, the Duquesne Weekend, in turn spawned the Catholic charismatic renewal, through which Martin was soon baptized in the Holy Spirit. Martin and Clark then began hosting prayer meetings in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which would eventually spawn the Word of God community. Martin was invited to Belgium by Cardinal

Leo Joseph Suenens Leo Jozef Suenens ( ) (16 July 1904 – 6 May 1996) was a Belgian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels from 1961 to 1979, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1962. Suenens was a leading voice at ...

to help jumpstart the Catholic charismatic renewal in Europe. In 2011,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

appointed Martin to a five-year term as a consultor to the

Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization (Latin: ''Pontificium Consilium de Nova Evangelizatione''), also translated as Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia whose cre ...

. Martin is currently the president of Renewal Ministries, and lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Anne.

Selected works

* ''A Crisis Of Truth'' (Servant Books, 1982) * ''The Fulfillment of All Desire'' (Emmaus Road Publishing, 2006) * ''Will Many Be Saved?: What Vatican II Actually Teaches and Its Implications for the New Evangelization'' (

Eerdmans William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company is a religious publishing house based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1911 by Dutch American William B. Eerdmans (November 4, 1882 – April 1966) and still independently owned with William's daughte ...

, 2012) * ''A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward'' (Emmaus Road Publishing, 2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Ralph C. Living people University of Notre Dame alumni Year of birth missing (living people) American Roman Catholics